Children's Time: Living Our Lives From the Inside Out

CHILDREN’S TIME

Good morning, my friends.

Today, I have brought something really interesting thing for our time together.

(Open the gift box: PROP)

It looks like just a normal Christmas ornament you may see every day around Christmastime, maybe even hanging on your Christmas tree at home. It’s actually a Christmas present that I received from a church member last year.

It looks like an average Christmas ornament, but we can find a special message if we learn about how it was made.

This is an Inside-painted Glass Ornament. It was made and decorated in the Japanese tradition; which means this kind of ornament was first made in Japan, a long time ago.

What is special about it is that it is painted inside out.

On the top of the ball is a very tiny hole, now covered with this cap. The painter takes a very, very thin brush, sticks it through the hole, and paints inside the ball, one colour at a time. The most amazing thing of this is, for me, the painter cannot feel the tip of the brush, so he or she has to totally rely on their sense of mind and, of course, to be very very patient. You can’t rush when you have to be this careful with your creation! The result is this beautiful ornament, handmade, one-of-kind, unique. It is beautiful because it is done from the inside out.

And the great thing that Jesus teaches us, in today’s Bible story, is to live our lives from the inside out, rather than from the outside in.

What do you think it may mean that we live our lives from the inside out?

(Receive answers…)

I think that living our lives from the inside out means to follow our heart, follow the teachings of Jesus. What are the teachings of Jesus? To love our God, to love our neighbours, and to love ourselves.

We don’t put ourselves above others. We don’t live our lives just to make more money or have more things than anyone else. And, we don’t think that we are not good enough or less than others. We don’t compare ourselves to what others do, what others have, what others achieve. We don’t live our lives according to what others think about us, what others say about us. We live with our own inner paint brush, and we paint ourselves from the inside out.

This is what Jesus teaches us today: God is blessing us. God loves us. So we return God’s love by helping others, and helping the world to be a better place for everyone within to live with peace and love.  

Will you pray with me?

Dear God, We thank you for the art that teaches about how we live. Help us to live our lives from the inside out and to love ourselves. Amen.

Prayers - Feb 2, 2014 w. Welcoming New Members

CHILDREN' TIME

SERMON

WELCOMING A NEW MEMBER

Bruce is invited to come forward to face the congregation. Jamie, as the sponsor, introduces him and may provide brief information about him.

Statement of Purpose

The church is a community of people with varied gifts, united by the Holy Spirit.

We gather to celebrate God’s presence, to discern God’s truth, and to follow the way of Jesus.

By our baptism, we are made members of Christ’s church.

We exercise this membership

In the denomination to which we belong,

Which for us is The United Church of Canada,

And within the context of a local community of faith.

We are now to welcome into this congregation

Bruce, who is already a member of the church of Jesus Christ.

Presentation

Jamie, as the sponsor of Bruce, presents him with the following words:

On behalf of the Chemainus United Church congregation,

I present the Bruce Oliphant

Whom we welcome into the membership of this community of faith: 

Chemainus United Church.

Commitment of New Member

Bruce, you have been a part of our community for a long time, 

and we all love you with God’s love.

You belong to us, and we belong to you, just as we belong to Christ together.

Will you continue to be a part of this wonderful circle of faith in Christ as we are,

And affirm it by becoming a member of the Chemainus congregation;

As together we celebrate God’s presence,

Live with respect in creation,

Love and serve others,

Seek justice and resist evil?

I will, with God’s grace.

Congregational Commitment

Dear friends in Christ,

Let us pledge to Bruce Oliphant and to each other our support and care.

Many gifts, one Spirit.

Many song, one voice.

Many reasons, one promise.

Many questions, one choice.

Help us learn to love each other

Help us to love

Show us ways to understand

   Help us understand

We are members of one family

   We are one family

Growing strong by joining hands

   Growing stronger

Prayer

O God, we pray for unity, give guidance from above.

In our differences unite us in a circle of your love.

Take our many ways of working; blend the colors of each soul

Into the beauty of a rainbow,

Give us life God, make us one. Amen.

The family of Bruce and everyone who would like to accept him into our midst by giving your warmest blessings and hugs, please come forward. (Laying of hands on him and each other.)

Welcome

In the name of Jesus Christ,

We welcome you to the joy and responsibility of membership in this congregation.

We give thanks to God for your blessed witness among us and this blessed story we are now weaving together as one.  

(The following words of prayers are inspired by Rev. Brent Hawkes at MCC Toronto)

OFFERING PRAYER

God, we offer you these gifts from the abundance we have been given, for your work, in this community and from this community. Your love frees us to be generous with each other and inspire us to action, building bridges in this place and from this place, toward a world hungry for hope, for justice and for peace. So we commission these gifts to your service in the world. Amen.

COMMUNION INVITATION

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said in one of his famous writings, until everyone is welcome at the table, our job is not done. Until everyone knows that they have a place and a voice at the table, our job is not done. And so, this morning we want to assure you that at this table you have a place; you are not required to be a member of this church or any church to receive these gifts. You can receive the elements and the blessing, or if you want to receive a blessing, but not receive the elements, just do this (gesture) so that the servers can give you a blessing, if that would be your preference. But please know that you are welcome. You have a place at this table.

COMMUNION

God is with you…And also with you

(…)

It is right and good and joyful always and everywhere to give you thanks to you, Loving God, Creator of Heaven and Earth, therefore we praise you, joining our voices with all the company in Heaven, whoever proclaim and sing and praise the glory of your name,

SINGING

Holy Holy Holy One / Santo Santo, Santo

My heart, my heart adores you.

My heart knows how to say to you, Holy are you God.

REMEMBERING JESUS AT THE TABLE (SINGING)

On the night you were betrayed, you took the bread and after giving thanks, you broke it and said

This is my body broken for you, and as you do this, remember me. (X2)

On the night you were betrayed, you held the cup. After giving thanks you lifted it up

This is my life poured out for you, and as you do this, remember me. (X2)

So we thank you for the cup and for the bread, for we receive the love you gave and the life you led,

And we remember your wondrous love, you gave your body. You showed your love. (X2)

Let us proclaim the mystery of our faith:

Christ has died. Christ has risen. Christ will come again.

This is the gift of God. And we are the people of God. All are welcome to receive.

BENEDICTION

May we open to the possibilities before us as congregation.

May we open to the new days as we give thanks for today.

And as we go from this place, go knowing that God’s blessings go before you, God’s face will shine upon you and be gracious upon you, and God will grant you peace.

In your going out and coming in, in your lying down and in your rising up, in your labours, in your leisure, in your laughter and in your tears, until that day in which there is no dawning, no sunset, no death, no disease, go rejoicing that God loves you. Amen.

INVITATION TO COFFEE HOUR – MAKING FRIENDSHIP

I learned and laughed by learning it, that making friends is hard in the pews, but easy to do over a cup of coffee. Friendship and socializing is an integral part of any faith community. Don’t miss the opportunity to catch up with old friends and make new ones over refreshments – sandwiches and tea and coffee, served downstairs.  

Sermon - A Home For Us All - re: membership (Jan 19, 2014)

Sermon: A Home For Us All

In this big, wide world, it’s not easy to find a place that feels like home. ‘Home’ evokes a sense of security, a sense of intimacy, a sense of peace and comfort. When people come to church, they find these important, life-sustaining values here in this community.   

Last Sunday, some of us were hurt and all of us were distressed by the events that unfolded at t the congregational meeting. We were reminded that only church members could vote upon certain matters, such as making decisions about pastoral issues, including the acceptance of the JNAC report. That news was upsetting; some who have attended church regularly for years were told they are not ‘members’. What happens when you find a home, find a family in this church, and are told that you cannot take part in decisions that are vital to the church, because you are not a member? It hurts - the place you think of as home turns out to have rooms you are barred from entering. When people come to this church, what they are doing is hoping – hoping that they may find their spiritual home here. They are seeking a place where they belong, the assurance that they have found the ‘right’ place.

The message that some people got last Sunday and felt hurt by hearing was “You don’t belong here. This is not your home.”

That is a terrible message to hear.

I understand how painful last Sunday was for many of us, how hard that message of exclusion sounded. Over the week, I started to wonder how the notion of ‘membership’ sounds to you.

We see these signs quite often – “Private Property. Members Parking Only.”

This Friday, in the last minutes before I took my older son, Peace, to school, I decided to send him to an after-school programme as I was fairly behind in my work. Unfortunately, the after-school programme where Peace usually goes was closed that day. So I contacted a different after-school care facility which Peace had attended a year ago, and was told that I would have to pay the fee for the afternoon, plus renew my membership and pay an additional annual fee for this year. I felt the sting of my lapsed membership - I hadn’t really understood the cost of not belonging before that moment.

These days, membership is everywhere. When I open my wallet it is full of membership cards: gas station membership cards, air mileage membership cards, grocery store membership cards, all these cards that promise savings and special privileges.

Even kids enjoy the privileges of clubs - one day Peace told me that he planned to save some money. When I asked what the money was for, he said, “To buy a one-year membership in Club Penguin.” ( an on-line video game for children). You don’t need to be a member to play online at Club Penguin, but membership opens levels that aren’t available to the casual visitor.

Membership may mean more savings, extra privileges. Sometimes it can mean extra cost or expectations of service - ask anyone who has ever been in Scouts or Guides. But that word - membership -  is part of a language of inclusion and exclusion and privilege and disprivilege. Most institutionalized organizations have a membership policy, a clear line between who’s inside and who is outside. And yet, with church - there’s no sign on the door stating, ‘Members only, please.” There’s no policy of “One trial visit before you join” - the doors are wide open for everyone to come in.  

The church is, historically, practically the definition of an ‘institutionalized organization’ - it’s an institution that has been around for more than two thousand years. And yet, people still come, people still stay, even young people, because they have experienced and sensed that something new is beginning in this institution – something positive that is less-organized, less-institutionalized, less strict, less doctrinal.  They see in us a small community that provides a sense of home, hospitality, of warmth and spirits questing together for the truth - for God.

Then, last Sunday, the dismaying news: this church is still an institution. It has rules. Most of those rules are helpful for oversight and governance, yet, we believe that something must be changed. Maybe there should be no line, no privilege, no entry gate, no barrier of membership in the church.

So here are three questions for us to ask and consider as we continue to study about membership -

Should membership convey exclusive privileges?

Does membership cause a division in our ecumenical spirit? Isn’t it that when we are once baptized and affirm our faith, we belong to the Universal Church – the catholic Church with a small c -?

Does membership mean an institutional, territorial, old-fashioned  concept of Christendom?

If we close our minds and do not study and learn and explore about a new possible interpretation for the idea of membership, membership will continue to be a barrier and a division.

However, if we study together and explore together to apply a new interpretation of membership, maybe new possibilities may open for us and allow us passage to a more positive, inclusive future.

This is what today’s Gospel shows us; when Jesus sensed that the two of the disciples of John the Baptist were following him, he turned around and said to them, “What are you looking for?” They said to him, “Teacher, where are you staying?” Jesus said to them, “Come and see.”

Come and see what? He is telling the two disciples to focus on what is possible in Jesus’s new ministry rather than focusing on what is predictable.

One of our church members looked for the word ‘Membership’ in Collin’s Dictionary, and, he told others later, found that the root of the word is member which means ‘part.’

Our new era of Christianity is asking us to imagine ourselves, a Christian community, as a living environment, a living organism, like a garden, a forest, a stream. Rather than focusing on maintenance or management, the smooth functioning of church work and church governance, we could focus on nurturing the culture of the congregational community, leading adaptive change and modeling ourselves upon the ‘radical hospitality’ of Jesus’ ministry.

Membership does not necessarily have to mean barriers, walls, voter privilege, entry gates.

With a new interpretation, membership can mean invitation and response which shares joy as well as responsibility – we nurture this family of God to be healthy, alive and sustenance for spiritual growth, together.

For example - what MCC Toronto (Metropolitan Community Church in Toronto) requires from candidate members: 

* input, vision ("what kind of community do you dream of...)

* engagement in team ministry (volunteer position)

* making a financial pledge, even though it may be $ 1 per year

Member means ‘a part.’ Being a member is good. It is making our belonging ‘official’, no matter whether we are a long-familiar face in the pews or a new one. And we celebrate it with a warm and affirmative welcome.

(The colourful stoles on the table)

See, here are 6 different stoles - they’re really colourful, aren’t they? The arbutus stole is from our Chemainus congregation, and the rest of them just arrived from Korea two days ago, as I shared with you in the time of Celebration.

Let’s say you were baptised in or you were a member of or you used to attend a different church of a different denomination. You have professed your faith in the other denomination. That’s all right. If you used to be green, now you go to the church of the red – I like red – it’s the colour of Pentecost, Spirit – let’s say, we are red. It’s all right. You are Christ’s own. Your identity as Christ’s own, never goes away. Whether you wear green or red or purple, you are you. Jesus Christ has welcomed you, accepted you, and transformed you forever as His own; that doesn’t change with the colour you wear. But once you have put on a particular colour of the community, (pick one stole and put it on), by being a member, it’s different from just looking to actually wearing them on your shoulders. You are commissioned by God to serve this congregation and the whole of God’s people as your neighbours, as your family. You become a part of this particular colour, of this particular rhythm, of this particular history of the living system. By being a member, we choose to be ‘part’ of the particular choice,  and we continue to be part of the larger whole family of colours, to do amazing things together, to live wonder and to reflect God’s amazing light of diversity, together. Amen.

Prayers & Children's Time (Jan 12, 2014, Baptism of Jesus)

Jan 12, 2014

Welcome

Welcome everyone to the First Sunday after Epiphany at Chemainus United Church.

We are celebratory and growing intergenerational church. We welcome all, and especially we extend our warmest welcome to those who are here with us for the very first time. Would you like to introduce yourself to the rest of us so that we can get to know you better? … With great joy, we welcome you. Please join us for refreshments after the worship service. As our kitchen in the C.E. Hall is in renovation, the refreshments will be served downstairs.

Announcement

Last October, some church members and I participated in the National Church initiative-led Comprehensive Review by way of video-conference – Sorry! That title is pretty confusing… The Comprehensive Review is a very important step the United Church of Canada has taken in order to listen deeply and prayerfully to the Spirit, and find out where the Spirit is calling us.  Many United Church congregations across the country have participated in this process, and we can hear some of the responses from the official video released this week. It is a three-minute-long clip.

http://www.unitedfuture.ca/

The words that really touch me every time I watch this video is the message of Colin Philips, who makes his voice heard by a vocal synthesizer. He says that we cannot sacrifice our desire to growth.

And as the last person in the video clip shares with us, a kind of new rhythm, new breath is indeed “Transferring us to imagine a church together.”

Interestingly, that’s what we are going to do today, and we are doing it even now. Today, in the Congregational Meeting after the service, we will hear and receive the Joint Need Assessment report – it’s not just a time to hear a written report from a committee, or to talk about hiring or calling a new minister, it is a part of the whole process of transferring us to imagine our church together. 

Thinking of the future, we are going to create an opportunity of three sessions to study the book “Changing the Conversation: A Third Way for Congregations.” The key in re-imagining the church is CONVERSATION. Everyone is welcome to join in the conversation. ….

-         For the conversations (chapters) 1, 2, 3 - on Jan 16 (Thurs.) @ 2 PM.

-         For the conversations 4, 5, 6, 7 - on Jan 30 (Thurs.) @ 2 PM.

-         For the conversations 8, 9, 10 - on Feb 13 (Thurs.) @ 2 PM.

-          

-     Children’s Time: A Cup of Encouragement

Good morning, my friends!

Have you ever received a cup of water from someone else? (Answers) I bet it’s something we do every day. After breakfast, when you’re playing, or any time when you feel thirsty, you can ask your mom or dad for a cup of water and they’ll give it to you. Sometimes they may ask you to get if for yourself, but I bet that they will pour you a cup of water if you ask really nicely.

Have you ever given a cup of water to someone else? (Answers) Can you share that story with us?

If you found a cat or dog which seemed to be lost or abandoned, and thirsty, the first thing you would probably do is give it some water to drink.

I have learned from someone I know that when we are with someone who is grieving, when they are very sad and crying because they lost someone that they really loved, the first thing we should do is give our friend a cup of water. Do you know why? Not only does water cool us down, 70 percent of our body is made up of water, and water helps us to make the kind of electricity that our body needs. We get more energy and we feel better when we drink a cool cup of water.

Jesus tells us that God is Living Water. That doesn’t mean that water dances or moves like us - God gives us life-giving energy like water does. And in today’s story, Jesus needs that life-giving water, that life-giving encouragement from someone he trusts. Jesus asks his friend John the Baptist to baptise him, to bless him with water.

(Prop: many, empty plastic, semi-transparent cups)

And let’s see what I’ve got. A cup for each of you. When you go back home today, fill the cup with fresh water and give it to a person you love and care for, or a person who needs your encouragement. Giving encouragement is very important. It means that you’re filling up the person with‘courage’ to hold inside.

Will you pray with me?

Dear God, thank you for encouraging us. Help me to encourage others so that we can do what you need us to do. Amen.

Prayers of the People

Gracious God, your abundance surrounds us as it sustains us. We thank you for gifts of friendship and new beginnings, for life as it unfolds, for new opportunities and growth. God of Grace, we pray for this church. As we face challenges, let us deal with them wisely and with discernment. When you lead us to opportunities for growth, let us see them for what they are, and seize them. Let us truly receive all your gifts with gratitude and share them with the people around us.

Spirit of Hope, in our lives and in our world, there are many troubles and concerns. Some face uncertainty and pain and illness. Some wrestle with anxiety and fear about work, about relationships and about themselves. We pray that your healing love may touch these lives …..(continued healing for N). (God of hope, we know you hear our prayers.)

Spirit of Compassion, be with us as we experience losses in our lives. Where there are disappointments, lead us with joy. Where there is grief, fill us with your peace. Where there is death, help us to say goodbye for now, but not forever. We pray for…….(Our brother/sister N). (Breath of Compassion, we know you hear our prayers.)

Breath of the Universe, you have created us for joy. Open our minds to your spirit. Increase our trust and guide our hearts in the ways of your truth.

God of Many Names, you transform us by grace, and renew us in peace.

Benediction

There is always reason to celebrate, and we can celebrate each other. 

Rather than criticism, we can give one another our encouragement and fill them up with courage to hold inside. 

And may God strengthen you and bless you with peace;
May Christ Jesus bring forth justice for you and among you;
And may the Holy Spirit alight on you
and affirm you as God’s beloved ones.

We go in peace to love and proclaim God’s love for all,
In the name of Christ. Amen.